Monday, April 30, 2012

Freddie Mercury Hologram? Queen Shrugs

Though every deceased body and their mother have been deemed fair game for "holographic" treatment since Tupac Shakur's surprise "appearance" at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Queen's Roger Taylor says he'll never play alongside any similar image of the late Freddie Mercury.

"I don't think I want to," Taylor told Billboard.com during a conference call with reporters to promote The Queen Extravaganza road show, which launches its eight-week run on May 26 in Quebec City. "Were somebody (else) to use a hologram of Freddie, I would have no objection... It just doesn't sit too well with me. I don't want to appear with a hologram of my dear friend. It's the real one or no hologram for me. But I think it's an amazing effect when used properly -- obviously in darkness." Taylor added that he and guitarist Brian May considered a Mercury hologram/projection for the musical "We Will Rock You" before deciding against it and also pointed out that the Tupac at Coachella was not strictly a hologram but rather "a two-dimensional thing. It gives the appearance of being a hologram. It's an illusion in the true sense."

"When Freddie died, we were in shock," continued Taylor. "And it didn't go away for five years. We would have probably remained together. We were very tight and very close. We never saw the need to break up..."